Outboard market, at least in the high hp range (over 25) keeps getting smaller and smaller. Basically just 3 left with Merc, Yamahammer, and Suzuki. I know Honda still makes them, but I haven't seen one in years.
Outboard market, at least in the high hp range (over 25) keeps getting smaller and smaller. Basically just 3 left with Merc, Yamahammer, and Suzuki. I know Honda still makes them, but I haven't seen one in years.
I'm ok with it. There are few outboards finer than a pre-bombardier OMC. There are few outboards worse than a post-bombardier Evinrude or Johnson.... with the exception of the E-tec. Great outboards.
As far as I'm concerned, Mercury bit the bullet in the late 90s. I still have a few older OMCs and one older Merc, but my newer stuff is all Yamaha. They are wonderful critters.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:I'm ok with it. There are few outboards finer than a pre-bombardier OMC. There are few outboards worse than a post-bombardier Evinrude or Johnson.... with the exception of the E-tec. Great outboards.
As far as I'm concerned, Mercury bit the bullet in the late 90s. I still have a few older OMCs and one older Merc, but my newer stuff is all Yamaha. They are wonderful critters.
I agree with you on the Yamahas. We have 3 - but it sounds like the Suzy's are every bit as good if not better.
I don't know anyone who had an E-tec who was disappointed, but I do know many who were afraid to touch anything Bombardier.
The honest reason that I started down the Yamaha path was twofold: 1) I found a 50hp that was perfect for the pontoon as a previous-year's leftover for cheap, and 2) That was about the time that Suzuki was pulling out of the automotive market in the US. I realize that doesn't mean anything for marine stuff, but I was afraid I would buy a Suzy and three years later not be able to get parts for it.
But I have heard great things about them.
Next week I'll be going fishing with a friend who has a Bombardier Johnson 150. It has already been rebuilt twice, once under warranty, and it still doesn't run right. Injectors keep failing and the cylinders get scored. Every year we get stranded at least once somewhere about 2 miles off the southern tip of Assateague. Bobbing around in the Atlantic in a 21' boat with a storm approaching isn't fun.
If E-tec resale value is any indication, they really are great motors. Dad was looking for one for his old Tri-hull and the prices were just kinda ridiculous. He ended up rebuilding the 1988 Merc that was already on it. Talk about a workhorse.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:The honest reason that I started down the Yamaha path was twofold: 1) I found a 50hp that was perfect for the pontoon as a previous-year's leftover for cheap, and 2) That was about the time that Suzuki was pulling out of the automotive market in the US. I realize that doesn't mean anything for marine stuff, but I was afraid I would buy a Suzy and three years later not be able to get parts for it.
But I have heard great things about them.
Next week I'll be going fishing with a friend who has a Bombardier Johnson 150. It has already been rebuilt twice, once under warranty, and it still doesn't run right. Injectors keep failing and the cylinders get scored. Every year we get stranded at least once somewhere about 2 miles off the southern tip of Assateague. Bobbing around in the Atlantic in a 21' boat with a storm approaching isn't fun.
If E-tec resale value is any indication, they really are great motors. Dad was looking for one for his old Tri-hull and the prices were just kinda ridiculous. He ended up rebuilding the 1988 Merc that was already on it. Talk about a workhorse.
We finally retired our 82 Merc when parts availability got too difficult. It was a great engine, but when you're on vacation if you need a part it was getting harder and harder to get in a reasonable time frame, or else too expensive. So now a Yamaha hangs off the back.
This makes me sad and makes my '73 Evinrude 85HP feel more special, but I get it. The latest editions of the ETEC seem great but I think that the 2 stroke path ultimately leads to a dead end sooner or later. No matter how high tech you make it. The latest Mercs seem to be getting amazing reviews, enough so that they are becoming more common choice than the new Yammers. New Zukes seem to be the solid, budget minded choice that gives up a little edge, and they are popular repowers.
I admit I had daydreamed about a brand new 70HP ETEC on my old trihull - they were the only ones I could get above 60HP at the weight of my current 85. But a $8k motor on a $1000 boat seems silly.
Honda makes and sells turbo ones with raw water cooling. They're fantastic, but expensive. I'm waiting for someone to swap a Honda marine unit into a vehicle like the Volvo redblock guys do.
I have a 2012 90 HP on my 17 foot Boston Whaler. I was a diehard Mercury guy before purchasing the ETEC but as Ultraclyde mentioned above weight on the transom with and older boat (1989 in my case) is a huge consideration when repowering. The ETEC is the sweetest running outboard I've ever had from idle to WOT. Better on fuel, faster than the Mercury it replaced. This sucks but isn't completely unexpected given the current situation. We shall see going forward on parts.
I have an older Honda 130 on my 20' boat. It's a bit small for it, but it gets the job done.
The Hondas are popular with the saltwater guys. If I am remembering right, the Wrightsville Beach Sea Tow chapter uses them.
I guess it's a stupid question, but were Johnson motors already gone? Cuz they were the same as Evinrudes, right?
In the OMC days Johnson and Evinrude were essentially the same. (Early 1950's through the late 1990's) If I'm remembering correctly, there was a brief period in the late 90's / early 2000's when there were some 4 stroke Johnson engines (Suzuki engines with Johnson decals).
OMC had a huge share of the market, poor execution of the Fitch direct injection technology killed them in under 5 years. BRP bought the technology, fixed the design and quality control issues but could never recover the market that had been alienated by OMC. It's really too bad, it's a great product.
spitfirebill said:I guess it's a stupid question, but we're Johnson motors already gone? Cuz they were the same as Evinrudes, right?
BRC retired the name in the late 2000's. I want to say 2008 or so.
I'm pretty sure they'd been basically identical for a long time before that under OMC.
Yup... identical in every way except paint color.
In reply to SaltyDog :
I couldn't feed that beast if you gave it to me.
I always hate to see a storied name brand go away.
I am annoyed by all the corporate doubletalk in that news release..."new opportunities", "pursuing new strategies", "enhance the boating experience". How do they come up with that crap, anyway.
The modern FI outboards are nuts. And then you see boats with 5-6-7 of them hung on the back. If you don't have a comma in your total HP number, don't even leave the dock in those circles. Insanity. I couldn't afford the fuel to take one of those out for a day, forget the actual motor.
I used to think car motors were expensive. I was wrong.
I grew up on the water, fished and surfed, owned several small boats. Had a couple of Boston whalers, my last boat was a Cape Horn 19 with a Mercury 200.
I love saltwater fishing, but I'm sad to say that other than my canoe, I'm done.
I can't afford two expensive hobbies, and I've discovered that I'd rather autocross. One very big factor: I like the people. I'm also spending less money.
I have a 2005 50hp suzuki that is nice, but i rarely use it so its going to have some issues. Smooth and quiet when its happy. And very good on gas.
pretty much all the modern EFI 4 strokes are good motors.
Like Curtis pointed out, real OMC has been dead for a while. I have a 1976 evinrude 25hp on my old boat that needs work. I'll get around to that some day.
Some of the law enforcement boats had the E-tec. They beat the ever loving poo out of them and the motors just ate it up.
In reply to stuart in mn :
I’m not 100% sure on this but I heard Bain Capital had a hand in this, brought in by the former CEO. Same guy who sold the new Bombardier C series intercity jet to Airbus.
Im sick of all the corporate bullE36 M3 too, if I hear of one more clown “disrupting” an industry I think I’ll scream. Think of how many hardworking people you’re affecting by those decisions. Sorry, rant off.
I regret selling a 1960 Evinrude 10 that I had. It was so old it had the two-hose fuel line system.
That thing just wouldn't die. I ran it all one summer and forgot to put lower unit oil in it. Fortunately, it had also developed a nasty prop shaft leak from some fishing line that I thought I had removed, so the water kept it lubed all summer until it started losing thrust but still had full RPMs. I bought a used pinion gear for $2 and put it in one afternoon.
I have two OMC Evinrude 30s from the 80s that I picked up at an auction sale for $25. I thought I was bidding per motor, but I got both motors for $25. They both run great and have electric start.
The old stuff just seems to run forever.
In reply to ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) :
Take good care of your 73 V4, an iconic engine very much like my personal favorite the Mercury in-line 6 tower of power. If you don’t already have one, get a good in line fuel filter / water separator and use marine Stabil religiously.
My Whaler’s original power was a 3 cylinder “Mercaha” (Mercury / Yamaha joint venture) oil injected carb 2 stroke. It was 23 years old when it abruptly died, I was far from the first owner so who knows how many hours or what it had been through. I’m pretty sure one of the 3 carbs got plugged with crud and ran one cylinder lean. There were other age related issues and parts were becoming an issue so hello E-TEC. Hopefully I’ll get another 20 years out of the Evinrude....
That's sad. If I were in the market for a new outboard an Etec would be near the top of the list.
Speaking of boating, I'm currently in the middle of a complete restoration of the 1982 Boston Whaler Montauk 17 that has been in my family since 1991 with nothing but basic maintenance and an engine change in 2005 to a Tohatsu 90 TLDI. It was in good original shape, but the subject of many field expedient repairs over the last 20 years. I'm already tired of sanding. Target splash date is just before July 4th this year
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